Occasionally
by GhostMonstah
Summary: Percy does stupid things. He tends to land in difficult situations. He also occasionally causes elevators to break down during hurricanes by pushing a button too hard. Yet, that isn't always quite bad. Mortal AU (a ten-shot in progress)
1. of hurricanes and broken elevators

**01**

 **of hurricanes and broken elevators**

* * *

If there was one thing Percy Jackson knew for certain, it was that he was completely and irrevocably in love with Annabeth Chase. Sure, there often were moments when he wasn't entirely too sure whether she even knew he existed. To him, though, his entire life revolved around Annabeth.

Jason, Percy's best friend, was the only one who knew about his little crush, which may or may not have had something to do with Jason being the only person Percy constantly hung out with. However, being the nuisance he was, Jason often dismissed Percy's love as a mere infatuation.

At that, Percy was mostly affronted and usually ignored Jason for about five minutes before his resolve cracked and he began excitedly talking to his friend about anything that just caught his attention. He'd often be mocked by Jason, to which Percy would retaliate with by offhandedly mentioning Jason's crush on Piper.

Back to Annabeth, Percy honestly believed he loved her, but his attempts to get noticed never worked. Once, he tried asking her out by buying approximately twenty-five balloons and a bouquet of roses, under the assumption that it was a grand gesture.

On his way to school, he went to pick up his phone and accidentally let go of the balloons. Unfortunately, a flock of birds happened to be flying overhead and pecked through the balloons. It ultimately led to him slouched in defeat while pieces of popped rubber fell on him like confetti. He realized he still had the roses and decided to go with those. Percy ended up tripping over a fallen pen and onto the flowers, which were immediately crushed.

Although things have been worse, it could be easily concluded that Percy didn't have the best luck. Which was why he was currently running in the middle of a mild hurricane, rushing to get home.

He was often described to be stubborn, mostly by Jason, but it was most likely why he insisted on going out in the midst of multiple hurricane warnings and the beginning of a currently small, but furious storm. All because he ran out of blue food coloring.

After rushing to the supermarket, which, for some reason, was still open, Percy bought all the blue coloring they had and left after paying for it, plastic bags in hand. He ran as if he was being chased by monsters, which almost caused his bags to rip.

When he finally made it to his apartment building, he was drenched in water because of his marvelous idea to not take an umbrella. Dripping with water, he trudged across to the elevator. Mrs. Dodds, a woman who often substituted for his math teacher and despised him, glared at Percy's antics as she talked to her sister on the phone in the lobby.

When he made it into the elevator, he released his hold and let his bags fall to the floor. He then pressed the button for the 18th floor and waited for the doors to close. Before it could completely close, though, he heard a feminine voice shout.

"Stop! Hold the elevator!" The voice sounded strangely familiar, but he brushed the feeling off and quickly punched the ' _Open Door_ ' button.

She rushed in, also soaked to the core. The person turned to him with a grateful smile, which caused him to jump.

"Annabeth?"

Said girl grinned genuinely and nodded, "Hey, Percy."

He smiled back, ogling at her, and most likely looking like a creep. He opened his mouth to say something cool back at her, such as a smooth line that would have her swooning. Instead, he made a choked sound, not unlike what a strangled cat would sound like. Of course, he tried to play it off by winking at her, which then lead to her asking if there was something in his eye, concerned. But hey, at least she seemed concerned for him, which made him feel a little better.

"Uh, nothing. I- I'm fine. Floor what? I mean, uh, what floor?" Percy winced inwardly, but Annabeth just looked at him strangely.

"Seventeenth," she replied, smiling again, but probably in pity.

Percy, momentarily dazed, knew where the button was by heart, but accidentally punched it. Of course, one may think his finger just pressed onto the button too hard and too fast, but in reality, he actually punched it. All the lights in place of the buttons flickered a couple of times before the elevator lights shut down with them as Percy watched in horror.

To make it even better, the elevator shuddered to a stop roughly, which lead to Percy to accidentally trip on his bags of food coloring. He then crashed into Annabeth, who went down with him.

Had it been a cheesy, romantic movie (and Percy may have been a pretty big fan of those), Annabeth would've landed on him and they would have gazed into each other's eyes for a painfully long time. Then, they would have met into a soft kiss.

As much as Percy would have liked for that to have happened, it didn't. Instead, he fell onto her and, considering he (although Jason liked to call him petite) was mildly muscular and quite larger than Annabeth's small, delicate figure, he crushed her.

"Ow," Annabeth groaned, muffled under Percy, "I really don't mean to insult you, Perce, but you might want to lay off of the cheeseburgers."

"And you might want to eat a little more," Percy shot back before pausing, "I mean, um-"

"You know, you could just get off, instead," Annabeth interrupted him as she was turning faintly blue at this point.

Blushing, Percy leaped off, accidentally elbowing Annabeth in the ribs as he did so.

"Sorry, Annabeth. I am so sorry, please forgive me. I honestly didn't mean that," he began to ramble.

"It's fine, Percy."

"Okay, but it was pretty comfortable down there," Percy blurted, as a last resort of even attempting to flirt.

"Maybe if our roles were reversed," Annabeth said, grinning widely.

Wait a second. _Was she still hung up on him being "fat" or was there some other meaning to her words?_ Percy wondered. He immediately turned red at the prospect, but the sound of a cell phone ringtone rang through the confined space of the elevator. Annabeth reached into her bag, which Percy hadn't noticed before, and pulled out her phone.

"Hello? Pipes, is that you?" It was most likely Piper McLean, Percy deduced.

He eavesdropped on their not-so-private-anymore conversation and learned something pretty interesting. Piper had a crush on Jason and he sort of planned to call Jason later and tell him. Or maybe he should just let the bastard suffer. He deserved it.

"Hey, Perce? I'm going to call for help, 'kay?" Percy jolted as his thoughts were broken.

"Huh?"

She rolled her eyes at him before grinning and repeating herself.

Annabeth went back to her phone after an incoherent murmur from Percy. His mind then wandered as he looked at his companion. Her hair was drying up and because it was out, a lock had fallen in her face. She made no move to move it, which was bothering Percy. He then looked at her again, _really_ looked at her, as he noticed the way the the light from her phone illuminated her face, making it the only visible thing ever since the lights went out.

His heart skipped a few beats when he saw how pretty, no, how _beautiful_ she looked and he suddenly felt the urge to kiss her. As quickly as that feeling came, another strange feeling joined it.

Percy couldn't breathe. He felt suffocated and just wanted to get out. The space felt too small, even if Annabeth, of all people, was there. His chest constricted and he just had to get it off his chest. He was being dragged down into a swirling sea of overwhelming emotions and he was drowning in them.

"Annabeth?" He started before she looked up at him, "I like you. I occasionally feel like it might be a little stronger than that, but I really like you."

He said it quickly, but it was more than enough. He was now breathing underwater in his sea of emotions, somewhat comfortable, but still unable to surface. Looking down, Percy couldn't bring himself to look at Annabeth.

When he mustered up the courage to do so, she came rushing at him. Annabeth grabbed his face and kissed him and _oh gods_ , it was bliss. He emerged from the ocean, finally able to breathe freely and soar.

There weren't any fireworks or anything. It was just the two of them, alone and together. An unfamiliar warmth spread through his body as he kissed her. No, it wasn't completely perfect. It was kind of awkward, considering they were soaking with rainwater and likely to get sick. Yet, it couldn't have been better.

But, most importantly, it felt like home.


	2. of first dates and disasters

**02**

 **of first dates and disasters**

* * *

Over the past few days, Percy had learned quite a few things. For one, Annabeth Chase is the type of girl he wouldn't mind spending the rest of his life with. Although they hadn't spoken too often before last week, Percy had a small crush (oh, who was he kidding? It was the size of Australia) on her. However, after an incident with a broken elevator and a hurricane, they had kissed.

Well, it really went like this: Percy caused the weak elevator to break, and after confessing his feelings to her, _she_ had kissed _him_. Although that had completely changed the dynamic between the two, they still weren't together.

They flirted. A lot. In fact, when Monday came rolling around, the entire school (and Percy) had been shocked when Annabeth came up to him and initiated a conversation. It had comprised of Percy blushing, stuttering and glancing at an equally dumbstruck Jason, and Annabeth looking insanely pretty, at least, according to Percy.

Then, when the warning bell rang, Annabeth stepped closer and kissed him. Well, on the cheek, but it was still a kiss. Jason, who had already heard all the details of the hurricane, looked as if he couldn't believe it.

In fact, as they walked to their next class together, Percy heard murmurs following him, catching the words, _Percy_ , _Annabeth_ , and _dating_.

Yet, at that point, when Jason was at a student council meeting with Annabeth, he heard her say that they were _just friends_ , which led to the conclusion that Percy had clearly done something wrong.

Of course, they spent all of lunch thinking up reasons why this was happening, even roping a couple of their friends into helping them. Percy and Jason were still clueless when Piper McLean walked up to them.

"Ask her out, you idiot," she said.

At that, Percy and Jason both began blushing and stuttering. Percy, because _how could he have been so dumb?_ And Jason just had a crush on Piper.

One thing led to another, and that was how Percy found himself currently cramming flowers, chocolate and a confetti cannon into Annabeth's locker. The flowers and chocolate had been a part of Piper's plan to woo Annabeth. The confetti cannon had been something a close friend of theirs, Leo, had made himself. It was rigged to explode and shower Annabeth with confetti hearts the moment her locker was opened. He'd given it to them to use because it was, as he said, "just lying around."

Piper, who had oh-so-graciously given them the combination, was distracting said locker owner. Jason was placed as a precautionary lookout because Annabeth was smart and would figure out what Piper was doing eventually.

"Percy," Jason hissed, "Are you done yet?"

Percy, whose hands were clammy and fumbling with keeping everything in place while trying to close the door, replied, "No! I would be if _someone_ just happened to help me!"

Jason hesitated, glancing at the surrounding hallways to ensure that no one was approaching before sprinting to Percy.

Percy held everything in place while Jason shut the door. At the last second, he pried his hands away as the locker door slammed shut.

They heard Piper talking unnecessarily loudly as her voice got closer. Realizing what that meant, they ran and hid behind a trash can, which wasn't the smartest idea. Moments later, Annabeth and Piper came into view, heading towards Annabeth's locker.

"I'm not sure what's going on, but would someone care to explain why Percy and Jason are trying to hide behind that trash can?" Annabeth remarked lightly as she put in the the combination.

It was when Percy got up sheepishly that she opened her locker. Leo's confetti cannon blew up in her face, shooting confetti at her, as heart-shaped balloons that miraculously hadn't popped fell out of the compressed space.

Gaping, Annabeth turned to face Percy who was holding a single balloon. On it, in messy, barely legible writing, was the question, **Will you go out with me?**

"Oh, I don't know, Percy," Annabeth sighed dramatically.

At that, Percy wasn't entirely sure what her answer was, causing him to turn red and stammer out an apology. Annabeth then rolled her eyes fondly and walked up to him, internally grinning at how he froze up.

"Shut up and kiss me," she said, and he gladly complied.

* * *

Of course, Percy managed to ask Annabeth out, and in a romantic, swoon-worthy way, if you asked him. Unfortunately, he really wasn't what one might call romantic.

So, he decided to take her to the aquarium because for a thalassophile like Percy, what better place was there for a short date?

And so, he currently was waiting outside Annabeth's door, with his hand raised to ring the bell. Before he could though, the door swung open, revealing two identical twin boys around the age of thirteen.

"Who are you?" One of the boys asked. The other looked at him up and down, attempting to figure out who he was.

"I'm Percy," Percy said, offering a tentative smile. "Percy Jackson."

They swung the door so he couldn't see them anymore. Percy could hear hushed voices before the door swund open again.

"Hi! I'm Matthew," the first boy said.

"And I'm Bobby," the other twin finished.

They ushered Percy in, smiling deviously as they did so. They forced him onto the couch and as Percy inhaled the scent of cookies, the twins stepped up to him.

"So, are you Annabeth's boyfriend?" Bobby (or was it Matthew?) asked.

"I guess so," Percy replied, fidgeting with his hands.

"What are your intentions with her?" Matthew asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Oh, I—" Percy was cut off by the arrival of Annabeth.

"Matthew, Bobby, what are you two— oh, Percy. You're here," Annabeth said, smiling.

Percy couldn't help but send a smitten smile in here direction and mumble an indistinct reply.

Suddenly, Annabeth's calculating gaze turned to the boys suspiciously. "What are you two doing?"

Their entire demeanor changed as they came up with excuses.

"Oh, us?"

"Nothing."

"We're absolutely—"

"—innocent."

With that, they kept backing up until they reached the stairs, which they sprinted up, shouting, "Mom! Dad! Annabeth's boyfriend is here!"

As soon as Matthew and Bobby were out of sight, Percy stood up and grinned at Annabeth. Although when this scene played in his head multiple times last night, he was a lot smoother and said some sort of line that had Annabeth swooning. Instead, he stuttered out a drooly, "hi."

Before they could do anything else, a woman came bouncing down the stairs. She was pretty, Percy thought, with her Asian features and red highlights, but not as beautiful as Annabeth. However, Annabeth didn't seem to resemble her at all.

It wasn't until a man followed, looking odd with an aviator's hat and goggles. He looked eccentric with his eyes appearing as if they were bulging out. From under the hat, sandy hair, the same color as Annabeth's, peeked out.

"Hi," the woman started, "I'm Helen, Annabeth's stepmom." She introduced herself with a warm smile and Percy understood the lack of resemblance.

Unlike Helen, the man looked at Percy with narrowed eyes, scrutinizing his every feature. After a few moments, he seemed to deem Percy worthy enough and introduced himself.

"I'm Frederick Chase, Annabeth's father," he said, holding a hand out.

Percy merely stared at it before realization struck and he rushed to shake it firmly. "Hi! I, uh, I'm Percy Jackson."

He stuttered and wound up retracting his hand, only to use it as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. An awkward silence loomed over them before Helen cut through.

"Well, I've heard a lot about you, Percy!"

Annabeth seemed to leap at that and pushed Percy to the door. "Well, we should get going . Don't want be late now, do we?" She nudged Percy, who in turn agreed.

"Yeah, we don't want to be late. Bye, Mrs. Chase! Bye, Mr. Chase!"

Annabeth seemed satisfied as she dragged Percy out the door and slammed it shut. Percy raised an eyebrow at her and swooped down to kiss her. Before he could, she pushed him away, leaving him standing there, feeling dejected.

Rolling her eyes, she explained her actions, "Don't look so heartbroken there, Perce. THey're all spying on us through the window."

Percy blushed and led her to his car. As they got in, he subtly snuck a glance at the window and saw four heads peeking through the curtain.

* * *

"Annabeth! We have a bond, don't disregard it!" Percy whined.

Annabeth simply raised an eyebrow and scoffed. "They're just fish. You can't have connection with fish, Percy."

"Try me," Percy challenged.

She smiled widely and said, "There's nothing I love more than a good challenge."

They got ice cream later because neither one was hungry enough for an actual lunch. They spent most of the afternoon laughing and talking.

Percy licked his blueberry ice cream as he asked Annabeth a question. "What about your mom?"

She froze and replied with an icy undertone, "Why are you asking?"

"Sorry," Percy said. "I was just curious since Mrs. Chase said she was your stepmom."

Annabeth sighed, but answered him anyway, "My mom and my dad got a divorce when I was seven. Last I heard, she was in Greece."

Percy nodded. "Oh."

"What about your parents? Isn't Mr. Blofis your stepdad?"

Percy nodded again. "Yeah. It's always really been me and my mom, but when she started dating Paul, it was like actually having a father figure, I guess."

They kept talking, with Percy informing Annabeth of how his dad was 'lost at sea' when Percy was a baby, as well as his old stepdad.

Annabeth told him the details of her parents' divorce and how she hated Helen initially.

Before they knew it, they had walked all the way to Annabeth's house, not realizing it when they talked.

"Well, I'll see tomorrow at school, I guess," Percy said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah," Annabeth replied softly.

She leaned up to him and kissed him lightly for a few seconds. Before it could get more heated, the door opened to reveal Matthew and Bobby. Percy broke the kiss and coughed awkwardly.

"Bye," he said.

Annabeth headed in and stuck her head out the door as her step-brothers tried to drag her inside, presumably to interrogate her.

"Bye, Seaweed Brain," she called out, teasingly.

Percy only chuckled as he began the walk to get his car back.


End file.
